MANHATTAN — Public Advocate Letitia James is calling on the Department of Education to create a "Chief Diversity Officer" to integrate the city’s segregated public schools.
The DOE, however, said it is working on a “larger plan” that should be released “later this school year.”
Black and Hispanic students attend intensely segregated schools in the city, according to public data that shows 96 percent of black and 95 percent of Hispanic students attend majority low-income schools.
Schools in lower income areas have fewer resources and a more difficult time attracting and keeping quality teachers — and, as a result, they perform worse than schools in more affluent areas, studies show.
“The New York City public school system is one of the most segregated school systems in the country, and the DOE does not have a sufficient plan to address this reality,” James said in a statement. “With the creation of a Chief Diversity Officer, New York City will finally be able to tackle the systemic segregation that should have been eradicated decades ago.”
She said the DOE’s “patchwork” approach to increasing diversity — through rezoning individual schools and asking principals to submit diversity-based enrollment policies — does little to address systemic issues.
A diversity officer, on the other hand, would help define diversity to include race, economic status, homelessness, children with disabilities, English language learners, and LGBTQ youth. The person in this position would look at enrollment practices, class size, co-locations and how these policies have contributed to school segregation.
The officer would also provide a plan of action to reform the system.
James’ call on Tuesday for a chief diversity officer, came on the heels of the release of the DOE’s annual diversity report, now required to be submitted each year to City Council, giving demographic data as well as outlining efforts made to improve diversity.
The DOE noted that its “diversity in admissions” pilot expanded from seven elementary schools to include 12 more schools, including middle and high schools, now setting enrollment targets for low-income or other students.
The department also touted its increased outreach to bolster diversity at the city’s most elite high schools, like Stuyvesant and Brooklyn Tech. That included giving the Specialized High School Admissions test during the school day at seven schools for the first time ever. It also expanded gifted and talented programs to four new districts and increased supports for LGBT students.
“We agree that students learn better in diverse classrooms and we are eager to continue working with Public Advocate James on these important efforts,” DOE spokeswoman Devora Kaye said. “However, at the DOE, the buck stops with the chancellor and she’s asked her senior leadership team to work on these important efforts through operations, programming, instruction and policy under her leadership.”
The DOE, she insisted, has a diversity plan in the works.
“These efforts extend far beyond one individual or division and a more simplistic approach would discredit the importance of the effort, the complexity of the issue and the need for collaboration both internally and externally,” Kaye said. “We look forward to sharing our larger plan later this school year.”
